Brad May
| birth_place = Toronto, ON, CAN | draft = 14th overall | draft_year = 1990 | draft_team = Buffalo Sabres | career_start = 1991 | career_end = 2010 | website = BradMay.ca }} Brad S. May (born November 29, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He grew up in Stouffville, Ontario, but played his rep minor hockey in Markham, Ontario. A veteran of over 1,000 NHL games, May was known more for his enforcing skills than his scoring touch. May was also noted as being a solid leader in the Dressing room and in the 2006–07 season he won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks. Playing career Brad May was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, 14th overall, in the first round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. May is famous for scoring a series clinching goal in the 1993 Adams Division semi-finals against the Boston Bruins in game four by deking-out Boston defenseman Ray Bourque, which is when broadcaster Rick Jeanneret made the famous "May Day!" call. May was traded by the Sabres to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Geoff Sanderson on February 5, 1998. After sitting out during the 2004–05 NHL Lockout, May signed with the Colorado Avalanche as an unrestricted free agent for two years on August 20, 2005. May's signing caused much conjecture and debate in Colorado due to his role played in the previous season's Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore incident as a Vancouver Canuck. He was later traded on February 27, 2007 to the Anaheim Ducks for goaltender Michael Wall. The Ducks went on to win the Stanley Cup that year, and May had his name engraved on the Cup for the first time in his career. On July 4, 2007, May re-signed as a free agent with Anaheim for a further two years. In the 2007–08 season, May played his 900th career NHL game on November 16, 2007 and scoring his 125th career goal as the Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-3. May was selected during the year to ride on Anaheim city's float at the 2008 Rose Bowl Parade to accompany and parade the Stanley Cup. During the 2008–09 season on January 7, 2009, May was traded from the Ducks to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a conditional 6th round draft pick in 2010. On April 8, 2009 May played in his 1,000th career NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres. It was no coincidence that the milestone came against the Buffalo Sabres, as he was purposely sat out for the previous game. On September 23, 2009, May was invited to try out for the Detroit Red Wings, reuniting temporarily with former Vancouver teammates Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cloutier. May made his Red Wings debut in a pre-season game on September 25, 2009. At the start of the 2009–10 season on October 8, 2009, May then signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings. After posting 2 assists in 40 games with Red Wings May was put on waiver to clear roster room for Andreas Lilja on February 12, 2010. After clearing waivers and briefly contemplating possible retirement May decided to report to Wings AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, to play out the season. In an expanded role with the Griffins May scored 10 points in 17 games before he was returned to Detroit as a part of the extended squad for the playoffs. On September 20, 2010, without an offer of a new contract, May effectively announced his retirement in accepting a position as a CBC American Hockey League analyst. Incidents Phoenix Coyotes As a member of the Phoenix Coyotes in November 2000, May was suspended for 20 games for slashing Columbus Blue Jackets forward Steve Heinze in the nose with his stick. Heinze would need nine stitches, but returned to ice quickly. After the game, May apologized to Heinze, who accepted the apology. At the time, the 20-game suspension was the fourth longest in NHL history. In 2002, May was arrested after assaulting a police officer and disorderly conduct at a nightclub in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was consequently sued by the police officer and in December 2005, was ordered to pay damages from a civil jury. Steve Moore May was also noted for allegedly putting the bounty on the head of the Colorado Avalanche's Steve Moore that ultimately resulted in the Todd Bertuzzi incident that essentially ended Moore's career. May was named in a lawsuit filed by Moore, but unable to prove conspiracy theories, charges were later dropped in Colorado as the case was moved to a Canadian court. Kim Johnsson May was suspended for three games in the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs for punching Minnesota Wild defenceman Kim Johnsson in the face during the final minutes of Game Four between the Ducks and Wild. Both teams were involved in a large scrum of fighting, pushing, and shoving. May turned around and without warning punched Johnsson, who was skating towards the scrum. Johnsson was knocked unconscious for a short amount of time. Johnsson was not seriously injured, but was hospitalized, and missed Game Five of the series. The Ducks would win that game and eliminate the Wild from the Playoffs. In an interview, May said that he intended to contact Johnsson to apologize and explain what happened. Career statistics Regular season and playoffs }} International See also *List of NHL players with 1000 games played References External links * * * Category:Born in 1971 Category:Anaheim Ducks players Category:Buffalo Sabres draft picks Category:Buffalo Sabres players Category:Canadian ice hockey players Category:Colorado Avalanche players Category:Detroit Red Wings players Category:Grand Rapids Griffins players Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks Category:Niagara Falls Thunder alumni Category:Phoenix Coyotes players Category:Stanley Cup champions Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players Category:Vancouver Canucks players Category:Retired in 2010